After 14 years of Tory sleaze,we now have… Labour sleaze! Or so it seems, at least.
Labour in Opposition spent many years criticising Conservative cronyism, when the Tories appointed their political friends or donors to public organisations.
But now, in government, Labour is facing exactly the same criticism over two similar appointments.
The most recent is that of Emily Middleton as a director general in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, where Peter Kyle is the Secretary of State.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
She was previously a partner at consultancy firm Public Digital, which paid for her secondment to Mr Kyle’s office in Opposition – a donation in kind of more than £65,000.
The other is that of former banker Ian Corfield, who was brought into the Treasury to help deliver an international investment summit in October.
Over the past decade Mr Corfield has donated a total of £20,000 to Labour MPs, including £5,000 to Chancellor Rachel Reeves (who is in charge of the Treasury) in July 2023.
The Tories are making a huge fuss about this, which is perfectly reasonable on one level; as the largest Opposition party, they should question the appointment of Labour ‘cronies’ to top positions in the civil service.
But it is also hugely hypocritical. It isn’t very long since the Tories were being attacked for doing exactly the same thing – and they have made no undertaking not to do it again. Pot, kettle, black.
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After 14 years of Tory sleaze, we now have LABOUR sleaze!
After 14 years of Tory sleaze,we now have… Labour sleaze! Or so it seems, at least.
Labour in Opposition spent many years criticising Conservative cronyism, when the Tories appointed their political friends or donors to public organisations.
But now, in government, Labour is facing exactly the same criticism over two similar appointments.
The most recent is that of Emily Middleton as a director general in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, where Peter Kyle is the Secretary of State.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
She was previously a partner at consultancy firm Public Digital, which paid for her secondment to Mr Kyle’s office in Opposition – a donation in kind of more than £65,000.
The other is that of former banker Ian Corfield, who was brought into the Treasury to help deliver an international investment summit in October.
Over the past decade Mr Corfield has donated a total of £20,000 to Labour MPs, including £5,000 to Chancellor Rachel Reeves (who is in charge of the Treasury) in July 2023.
The Tories are making a huge fuss about this, which is perfectly reasonable on one level; as the largest Opposition party, they should question the appointment of Labour ‘cronies’ to top positions in the civil service.
But it is also hugely hypocritical. It isn’t very long since the Tories were being attacked for doing exactly the same thing – and they have made no undertaking not to do it again. Pot, kettle, black.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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